


Little Talks

by Kirbyzcheese



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirbyzcheese/pseuds/Kirbyzcheese
Summary: After one rainy afternoon, Sunny and Aubrey start talking a little more.
Relationships: Aubrey/Sunny (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 257





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dark clouds hung overhead as raindrops pelted windows in a rhythmic pit-pat fashion across a sleepy town in the suburbs. The melody prompted the frogs outside to sing their croaky song, while the flowers swayed to the beat. All the while, inside a large home, was a young boy who sat on a stool, gazing at the yard outside. His legs swished back and forth in tune with the grandfather clock as he watched the droplets drip down the window.

Sunny was bored, it was a Friday afternoon and he had nothing to do. His friends were going to come over tomorrow for their weekly Saturday cartoons and the anticipation made the rainy day all the more boring. His older sister, Mari, wasn’t even around to distract him from his boredom as she was out of the house. She was out for another one of her college prep classes, and Sunny could only grimace as he remembered there were only two years left before she left for college. It wouldn’t be for another hour or so until she came back.

Sunny put his feet on the stool and put his face in his knees to try and get those bothersome thoughts out of his head, but suddenly, he heard a splish and a splash as he watched someone in a pink umbrella walk across the sidewalk. He recognized that umbrella, after all, he saw that umbrella every single rainy day at school.

Indeed, he saw Aubrey carry an umbrella as she walked through the rain, although, the umbrella wasn’t being used in the way it was meant to be used. She walked along with the umbrella slung across her shoulder, while the rain drenched her. Every few steps, she made a loud cry as she swung her umbrella like she was going for a home-run. She also stomped in every puddle on purpose with no exceptions, getting drenching herself in the process.

Sunny jumped from his stool, bursted out the door, and ran outside.

"Hey! Aubrey!” Sunny yelled out,

That seemed to break Aubrey out of her mood as she turned to face Sunny.

“Oh, hi, Sunny,” she watched as Sunny ran out of the house up to her.

“Come here!” He grabbed Aubrey and started pulling her by the arm.

“Huh? W-“ Aubrey tried to say something, but Sunny dragged her into his home before she could utter a sentence.

Sunny stumbled a bit as he rushed them both into his home. Once he got both of them inside, he spoke.

“I’ll get some towels, um, sit there.” Sunny stumbled a bit with his words. He pointed to a spot on the sofa and he scurried away.

Aubrey was confused to say the least, but Sunny was already gone. She put her umbrella on the side of the coat rack and took off her shoes and socks. The sound of footsteps and the clattering of utilities and cabinets sounded out upstairs as she sat on the sofa. Once she sat, a squish echoed and Aubrey grimaced. The couch she was sitting on was definitely expensive. It wouldn’t do to damage something so nice. Instead, Aubrey got up and sat on a spot near the fireplace on the rug. It was very toasty.

A black ball suddenly jumped onto her lap, and Aubrey lit up with glee. Mari recently got a kitten named Mewo, and Mewo walked up to her and nuzzled her head into her stomach. She squealed a bit and excitedly ran her hands through Mewo’s fur, and Mewo gave the cutest purr in response.

Eventually, the rattling upstairs stopped, and Sunny came running down the stairs with a handful of towels, a blanket, a hair drier, and a bunch of stuffed toys.

“Here.” He handed Aubrey a bunch of towels, but they were clumped into an unwieldy ball much like an onion. Aubrey managed to peel away a layer from the towel onion and dried the rain off herself.

Mewo promptly jumped from Aubrey’s lap and tackled the towel onion. She attempted to defeat it but the many layers kept falling on the small kitten. 

Sunny was behind the TV, rustling a pile of wires. He could’ve sworn there was an open outlet behind here, but all he saw was a mess of power strips and dust.

“Found it.” The hair drier in Sunny’s hand came to life and he handed it to Aubrey. A loud noise erupted throughout the room and it drowned out everything else which scared Mewo away. The towel onion laid on the floor, undefeated.

Aubrey didn’t realize just how cold she was and that made the hot air from the drier heavenly. She ran it through her hair a few times and over the parts of her clothes that were the most drenched. After a few rounds, her brain slowly regained its functions and she realized she never thanked Sunny, and hurriedly turned his way.

“Thanks Sunny, but you didn’t have to do all that.” Aubrey said, but Sunny just shook his dusty head.

“You were going to get sick if you didn’t dry off.” Sunny explained.

“It’s not that big a –“ Aubrey tried to say, but Sunny cut her off.

“Remember when I fell in the lake and Mari dove in and helped me? We got really sick after that. Our mom yelled at us for hours. Also, today is Friday, if you get sick, then we won’t be able to hang out tomorrow.” Sunny held out the blanket. After a moment, Aubrey took the blanket and wrapped it around her. She took a seat on the rug next to the fireplace.

“Fine, but wipe yourself off as well Sunny, you’re dusty.” Aubrey peeled off another layer from the towel onion and threw it onto Sunny.

An awkward silence began to pass as the fireplace crackled and they both dusted/dried themselves off. Sunny had a number of questions, ‘why did you go outside in the rain’, ‘is your umbrella broken’, ‘why were you so angry’, he thought for a while, but asked had to be asked.

“Are you okay?”

Aubrey mumbled a sound like a deflated bike horn.

“That doesn’t sound like okay. Um, want to talk about it?” Sunny sat down on the rug next to Aubrey, he patted the ground and handed her a stuffed toy with bushy eyebrows. “It’ll be like the park, I’ll hear you out.”

Aubrey huffed. She planted her face in her blanket and closed her eyes. After a while, she sighed, and pulled her head up.

Aubrey took a deep breath, “Today was awful! Bun bun made a mess of his room and Dad yelled at me for not cleaning up after her even though I was just about to. My favorite pen also disappeared and I couldn’t even find it after searching for a whole hour!”

“Is that it?” Sunny asked. It sounded bad, but he knew Aubrey well enough that what she just described wasn’t enough to make her that furious to run out in the rain.

Aubrey grimaced, she tried to think of another excuse but sighed, “Mom and Dad are fighting.” She said with a quiet voice.

“They were arguing again and they started screaming at each other. It went on for so long, and I’m not exactly sure what they were arguing about, but I couldn’t think at all. I don’t think they even knew I was there and I was really really scared,” Aubrey took a deep breath, “So… I just grabbed my umbrella and ran out. At first I was kinda sad, but then I got really angry. It’s not fair! Why can’t they just get along!”

Sunny stayed quiet.

Aubrey threw Sunny’s stuffed toy, Brows, to the side as tears formed in her eyes. It bounced harmlessly against the floor. Sunny handed Aubrey another toy, Happy the yellow gumdrop.

“Thanks.” Aubrey plopped down on the rug to stare at the ceiling and sniffled. She put the stuffed toy on her stomach and moped.

“I really want them to make up…”

Sunny had to think. He really didn’t know much about Aubrey’s home, she never did speak about it with any of them before.

“I don’t really know what anyone can do about mom and dad, but I do feel a little better after talking about it,” Aubrey squished Happy and played with it in her hands.

“Well… at least you have us don’t you?” Sunny said, “I know it’s not exactly the same, but Hero always says that it doesn’t matter what comes at us, we’ll be able to get through it, as long as we do it together. Remember you can always rely on us.”

“Hero does say that a lot, but isn’t he still afraid of bugs?” Aubrey giggled, “Do you think he’ll ever be able to look at a bug without freezing up?”

“Maybe if there’s hundreds of us between the bug and him.” They both laughed and made up a variety of other situations where Hero had to face his fears. From bunny-spiders, which Aubrey insisted would be adorable, to Hero having to battle giant bugs in a giant robot. They went on to discuss their classmates, their friends, and what they thought would happen next on the next issue of Captain Spaceboy.

Eventually, the grandfather clock chimed, and their conversation slowly died down, and Aubrey, exhausted, stretched her arms and made a big yawn.

“Hey Sunny, can you keep the thing about my parents a secret?” She said in a small voice.

“Why?” Sunny didn’t understand, if they were going to help Aubrey, they’d have to tell the rest of their friends.

“I don’t really want anyone else to know about this. It’s kind of embarrassing. I mean, it’s not that bad since dad always manages to calm mom down.” Aubrey covered her face with the blanket, “I’m having so much fun with everyone right now and I don’t want a thing between any of us to change.”

“I do too, but I don’t think anything will change between us,” Sunny managed to stumble his words. His face flushed at what he was about to offer next, “if you ever want to talk, you can always come to me.”

“Thanks Sunny,” She let out a sigh of relief and then she yawned, “that’s really sweet.”

Aubrey felt a lot better. She remembered that she should go home soon, but the rug was soft, and the blanket was comfy. Her heart felt a lot lighter, the air felt a lot fresher, and she couldn’t muster the will to get up. It… should be fine to close her eyes a little, Sunny wouldn’t mind. She curdled the blanket a little closer to her, and relaxed.

Minutes passed as Aubrey slowly drifted deeper into her slumber, and Sunny tried to figure out what to do. He stared at Aubrey’s face for those many minutes to see if she was asleep, yes, she was indeed, definitely asleep. And he shouldn’t have moved or else he might wake her up, that’s why he had to stay in place, especially because he was next to her.

Suddenly, Sunny heard something outside the front door, without a moment’s hesitation, he immediately dove himself headfirst into the rug. If anyone saw him, either his parents or Mari, staring at Aubrey’s face, he’d literally explode. His thumping heart was beating hard against his chest. He kept his ears open, he held his breath, but eventually the sound stopped and nothing followed. Sunny waited a few seconds just to make sure the coast was clear.

Sunny peeked one eye open and looked out the front window. He found Mewo splashing outside in a large puddle in their garden. He let out a sigh of relief, it was just a false alarm. He didn’t know how Mewo got outside, but if she could get out, she could definitely find her way back in.

Sunny let himself relax, and plopped his head on the carpet, staring up to the ceiling. He thought about what just happened. And thus, the more rational part of his brain took over.

He brought his hands to his face. Did he really just say all that to Aubrey? It was incredibly cheesy. He couldn’t help but squirm, and then he thought of nudging a little closer to Aubrey and squirmed some more. He was definitely happy to get to know her a little better, but he really hoped that she didn’t notice his crush on her.

Aubrey shuffled a bit in her sleep due to Sunny’s wild dance on the floor, and Sunny froze still. He didn’t dare move another muscle, despite all his nervous energy.

Sunny needed to calm down, He remembered what Mari told him about how to do so. He needed to close his eyes, empty his mind, and focus on his breathing.

Sunny laid on the soft rug, as the pitter patter of the rain sounded in the distance, as the fire gave warmth and crackled away. The environment made it extremely easy for Sunny to relax.

Breathe in.

Breath out.

Within minutes, his breathing was completely steady, his mind completely empty, and his eyes completely shut. Indeed, Sunny was maintaining a perfect still state. Fifteen more minutes passed and he kept the same position perfectly. Indeed…

The rug had claimed another victim.

* * *

The sun was finally starting to peek out after the long rainy shower the town had all day. A beautiful orange glow was shining upon every surface as the sun began to set. The pools of water reflected this orange glow. It was akin to being in a room filled with giant Christmas lights. Mari was briskly walking down the street, bag in hand, looking immaculate as always.

She was finally done with every single class for the day. College prep classes were definitely no joke, a single class was more exhausting than a full day of school. The classwork was intense, but she found satisfaction in achieving excellence.

Though it did leave her quite hungry, she wanted to get some fruit to refresh herself as an afternoon snack. She’d make sure Sunny would have some too, she always had to urge him to eat healthily. He always ate what was in front of him with no regards for a balanced diet.

She fiddled with the keys in her hand as she reached the front door of her home. The entirety of the home was a plain mixture of beige and white, she wondered if Dad would ever consider painting the house a few more colors. Mari heard a small mew and looked at the garden, there she found Mewo sitting in the garden soaked from head to toe outside the door like an adorable furry garden gnome.

“Aw, Mewo, did you get locked outside?” She cooed, “Let’s get you inside and dry you off.” She picked up the kitten by the neck with an experienced touch and put her into her arms. She unlocked the door in one swift motion and slipped the keys back into her bag.

Mari stepped into the living room and dropped her bag in surprise (but not Mewo). The sight made her break into the most manic smile. She had to suppress a squeal so she wouldn’t wake what she was looking at.

Sunny and Aubrey, some of the two cutest kids she knew were both lazily napping in front of the fireplace. A number of towels littered the floor as well as a small pile of stuffed animals surrounded them and Aubrey was cuddling one as well. Mari quickly wished that Basil was here to take a photo of this moment, she wanted to get this picturesque scene in as many megapixels and angles as she can get.

But Mewo made another cry and Mari remembered she had to dry her kitten off. She had to reorganize her priorities, and well, the two weren’t going anywhere. She peeled off a towel from the towel onion and the hair drier (she would need to remember to clean up before mom got home) and walked up the stairs to the bathroom.

Once she got Mewo’s fur all glossy and soft, Mari walked down the stairs back into the living room. She may not have a camera on her, nor in the house, but she’d engrave this moment into her mind. Unfortunately, the same moment she reached the bottom of the stairs, the front door opened again. Mari’s mother walked in and she was unaware of the sanctity of the moment and made a miraculous racket. Her keys clanked loudly against the bowl as they were tossed in, the door slammed shut harder than Mari had ever heard before, and her mother stomped her way through into her room. Mari recognized those signs, her mother must’ve had an awful workday today.

She sighed as one of the two sleeping angels were roused from their sleep as a hurricane known as their mother swept through their home. Sunny was able to sleep through the most incredible rackets. Well, if her other plans were ruined, she might as well speak to Aubrey to catch up.

Aubrey groggily got up. She rubbed her eyes whilst holding the bright yellow plushie. Yellow? Wasn’t Mr. Plantegg purple? She began to notice more and more discrepancies and she looked around, from how the soft rug definitely wasn’t her bed, to the unfamiliar blanket, to the older girl watching her with a bright giga-watt smile. Her eyes focused on the older girl’s face and she immediately panicked, it was Mari! Aubrey’s brain jolted awake and she threw the blanket to the side. Mari giggled at the scene and put out a hand for Aubrey to grab and pulled Aubrey up.

“Wakey wakey sleepyhead!” Mari lightly poked Aubrey on the forehead. Aubrey made a cute murgle in response. “Good afternoon Aubrey! Did you have a nice nap? And more importantly, why were you sleeping on the floor? It’s not very good for your back.” Mari asked with a smile.

“Well, uh,” Aubrey paused to think of a believable excuse, “a car splashed a bunch of water onto me while I was walking outside, so Sunny got me inside to dry off. And it was really warm! The fire was really cozy! And your rug is really soft and comfortable! So, um, I fell asleep...” Aubrey ran her toes on the carpet enjoying the feeling between her toes.

“And you just happened to fall asleep cuddling next to Sunny?” Mari’s smile grew until it was as wide as her face.

“N-no! It’s not like that! Um, I don’t know when Sunny fell asleep but… wait no! I wasn’t cuddling with him!” Aubrey blushed, “Was I…?”

“Nah Aubrey, I was just teasing.” Mari laughed.

“Daww, it’s getting late though, the sun has already set. Have you eaten anything?” Mari wondered. Aubrey shook her head in response.

“Then, you should stay here for dinner Aubrey! There’s only another hour before dinner is ready.” Aubrey lit up for a moment, but Mari continued, “If you’re going to stay though, we’re going to have to call your parents though, they don’t know you’re here right?”

“Oh, thank you, but my dad made dinner tonight.” Aubrey lied. It was honestly a 50/50 chance that he did. Aubrey glanced at the clock, “It’s getting really late, so I have to be home soon. I think I’ll go right now.”

“Phooey, I’d offer to walk you home, but I think I need to bring Sunny up to bed.” The boy in particular slept silently, and somehow managed to wrap himself with the blanket that was tossed away earlier in his sleep.

“Bye Mari!” Aubrey said as she left through the front door, umbrella in hand. She reached the sidewalk and turned around, “See you tomorrow!” and began to run home.

As Aubrey bounced down the sidewalk, she chuckled to herself,

‘Today wasn’t such a bad day after all.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First fanfic ever written, and once I was almost done with the chapter, I realized writing in 3rd person was a mistake. Yup. I'm not rewriting all that.
> 
> First person next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

  
  


Chapter 2

“Can you put down the picnic blanket already, Mari!” Kel nagged at Mari while he swung his arms shook Hector’s leash. Hector definitely wasn’t enjoying that. “You’ve been looking for a spot for like, 10 minutes already!”

“Hold on, I’ve almost found the perfect spot.” Said Mari. Honestly, my legs were kind of tired. Hopefully she’ll find it soon…

“C’mon Mari! Hector can’t wait to prove how superior he is to all other pets! He’ll completely sweep the ‘Best Pet Competition’!”

It all started after Kel started bragging about Hector in class. Aubrey argued that Bun-Bun was better than Kel’s dog, and they had another Kel and Aubrey fight. One word led to another, and neither would back down. Thus, Kel declared they’d have to have their two pets compete to see whose pet is superior.

Kel brought Hector on a leash. He had a bunch of dog toys stuff in his pockets and they kept falling out. Thankfully, Hector kept picking them up and bringing them back to him. It almost seemed like Hector was walking an over-enthusiastic Kel.

Aubrey held her pet bunny eloquently named Bun-Bun. Every once in a while she nuzzled her face in the pile of warm fluff in her arms.

I brought along Mewo. She had a real shot at winning the best pet contest. She was a good kitty. The best kitty. I stroked Mewo’s head, and she made a cute purr in response.

Basil brought a plant.

It was in one of those red-brown pots I didn’t know the name of. Everyone didn’t know what to say when he left his house lugging a flower in a pot. He said it was a chrysanthemum, and he was bringing it for the “Best Pet Competition”.

Kel was the first to point out the obvious; plants aren’t pets.

Basil laughed weakly, but was surprisingly adamant about admitting his plant.

He explained why plants were basically pets as we walked along to the park. Things like how much attention you had to pay to them, making sure you use the right fertilizer, and keeping track of time so each plant gets the right amount of sun and water.

He was quite serious about it, so we might as well let the plant compete.

Mari was to be our judge. She was wearing a sash with a colorfully written “REFUREE” in crayon.

Kel made it.

As we continued our trek through the park, suddenly, Mari’s face lit up and she jogged up to a patch of grass. She scanned the area with her hands shaped like a camera. After a full 360-degree turn, Mari opened her arms.

“Here! This is the best spot in the entire park during the fall!”

“So I can set this all down now, right?” said Hero. He was begging us all with his eyes to give him a break.

Mari nodded.

With a big oomph, Hero let go of everything he was carrying. He was carrying the blanket with his left hand, a picnic basket in his right, and everything else in a dark blue backpack on his back. He was pretty much carrying everything. They made a hearty thump onto the grass covered with yellowish leaves.

We offered to help, but Hero insisted, saying that it was his ‘responsibility’ as the oldest when we set off to the park. He immediately regretted his decision. Five minutes into our trip, he made some hilarious noises as he tried not to fall over.

“Is everyone ready?” Mari asked.

I nodded enthusiastically with everyone else.

“Then let the ‘Best Pet Competition’ begin!”

* * *

It turns out there’s not a lot of things a dog, cat, bunny, and plant can compete in against each other.

Our first competition, the cutest, was a simple vote.

“I vote for Hector!” shouted Kel.

“I vote for Bun-Bun!” said Aubrey.

“Mewo.” I raised Mewo into the sunlight and heightened his appeal.

“I, uh, vote for my plant.” said Basil. “Oh, but I think everyone’s pets are pretty cute too!”

Hero was the last vote. I turned to him and gave him my best puppy dog eyes. Everyone else was giving him a look too.

“Um, well, everyone’s pets are equally great.” Hero tried to brush over the issue.

“C’mon! Choose! And think about all the good times you’ve had with Hector!” said Kel.

“Well, haha…” As Hero began to stall, I lifted Mewo so that she’d make eye-to-eye contact with Hero. He would have to have a heart of steel if he could resist kitten eye-contact. Aubrey was doing the same with her bunny.

Hero’s eyes darted around, no doubt unable to handle the pureness of the kitty stare. His eyes met with Mari and I could see him begging for a way out. An entire conversation played out through eye contact, and Hero was clearly desperate.

I have no idea what they said to each other, but I was pretty sure Hero had just agreed to something terrible.

The look in his eyes was empty. Mari had a no-good smile on her face.

Mari told me what Hero promised her when I asked her later. They were both going to visit a haunted house in the nearby city. Mari had wanted to go there ever since they opened, but no one in our group would go with her. Not until Hero, who had just volunteered.

I’ll let Hero hold Mewo later. He’ll need it.

“Well, as the all-honorable referee, I judge that Hero’s vote counts as 1 vote for pet equality.”

“B-but-“ Kel tried to say something.

“No buts, the refurees judgement is absolute, and thus I declare, the first competition has ended in a tie!”

* * *

Our second competition was for which pet was the best at eating. Hero set out a bunch of snacks he had prepared in Tupperware containers all over the carpet. They were all prepared earlier that morning and were all catered to each pet. I didn’t even know chefs could cook special dishes for pets! Hero just left Basil’s plant in the sun.

“Here you go, everyone! It was honestly quite a novel experience cooking for animals. And don’t worry, I did some research on the library and everything is safe for them all to eat.”

There was an impressive assortment of scrambled eggs, chunks of chicken, veggies, and nuts for all our pets.

Kel was drooling at the assortment. Mari had to keep him away, so she slipped him some Orange Joe from the picnic basket.

While everyone’s pets were scarfing down their meal, I noticed a squirrel on the edge of my vision. Then I saw a second one. And then three more.

Before we knew it, a bunch of furry bandits had surrounded the cornucopia of food. And they were hungry.

The squirrels diving like football players, aiming for bits of eggs and nuts as they dashed across the yard. Hector especially took offense to this as he barked with an extreme fervor.

And before anyone could do anything about it, Hector took off to chase the squirrels. Unfortunately, he overturned the bowls and snacks as he ran, and so, the food flew all across the picnic blanket. Which included anyone who was near the picnic blanket.

An egg slapped onto my cheek, and yolk dripped from my chin. I peeled it off. It smelled delicious, but I wasn’t going to eat face food, so I tossed it into the trash bag Hero brought.

“Hector, noooooooo!” screamed Kel. He ran after Hector.

I rescued Mewo. Aubrey picked up Bun-Bun. They still ate their share, of course, but I didn’t want them fighting the food bandits. Aubrey waved around her bat with one arm and held Bun-Bun in the other to try. She was trying to scare some of the squirrels off, but it wasn’t working very well.

Basil hugged his flower away from the squirrels. Basil’s flower was untouched.

The situation was getting out of hand, and I did not know what to do. But before anything dangerous could happen, Hero stepped in! He grabbed a bunch of the Tupperware containers, which drew the squirrels attention. The squirrels were measuring him up, to see if they could take him, but then, Hero threw everything away!

The food spread everywhere on the grass, and the squirrels mobbed the chunks in a frenzy. I could finally let out a sigh I didn’t even know I was holding.

“Maybe this competition wasn’t the best idea.” said Mari as she laughed. She was picking some chunks of chicken off her hair and shrugged, “Let’s just hang out.”

* * *

  
  


We looked at the scene, Hector was still chasing the squirrels, and Kel was chasing Hector. Amazingly, none of them were tiring out. Hero was busy trying to clean up the food that spilled all over the ground so we wouldn’t have littered. Mari was doing her best to clean the picnic blanket from the splotches of eggs and egg yolk that dripped all over it.

Hanging out was probably for the best.

We all took a break and started eating the lunch that Hero had prepared. He made some really good sandwiches today! I had no idea what was in them, but he said he made a special sauce he just learned the recipe for. It was delicious! It was kind of savory and kind of sweet and made everything in the sandwich all the more delicious.

In between bites, we all talked about the competition. There were a bunch of highlights from each of our pets, though there wasn’t much to say about Basil’s flower. And it was pretty obvious on Basil’s mopey face that he felt bad about it.

“I shouldn’t have brought a flower, I thought it was kinda dumb to bring it for a pet competition from the start.” Basil mumbled.

He shouldn’t feel bad, the competition wasn’t really that big a deal. Maybe he’ll feel better if I pat his back. Unfortunately, my friendly pats had little effect on his mood.

“Then why’d you bring it?” asked Aubrey.

“Um… well… uh…” Basil stalled, but Aubrey’s inquisitive eyes drew the answer out of him, “I didn’t want to be left out.” He mumbled in a tiny voice.

I redoubled my patting.

“Don’t worry, Basil, we’d never exclude you from anything! You’re our friend!” she went and pet his head while my hands were still patting his back.

“Thanks, but can you guys stop? I kinda feel like a pet…”

“You can join the contest then! You have a real shot! It’s going to be super hard to beat Bun-Bun though.” said Aubrey.

“The competition might just be too fierce for me. Look at Bun-Bun’s sharp, uh…” Basil stared at the rabbit, “teeth? I’d be destroyed!” Laughed Basil.

“And I probably won’t be able to beat the squirrels…” He trailed off.

The squirrels had raided most of the bounty Hero had set out. They gave the nuts no quarter, as the bowls laid as empty as Kel’s toy wallet. They had scampered off after there was no more treasure to plunder.

Yeah, there was definitely no beating the squirrels…

* * *

  
  


If I had to pick a favorite season, it would probably be summer. Summer had so much, it couldn’t be beat, summer vacation with my friends, I was born in the summer so it’s when I have my birthdays, and ice cream in the sweltering heat is something that could rival any meal in existence.

But fall wasn’t too bad either. Fall leaves are always pretty and the weather lets me wear my favorite hoodie. Basil says fall makes reading a lot more fun, but I don’t really get it. Books are the same no matter the season, except for the Captain Spaceboy Christmas Special. That was always more fun to read when Christmas was coming up.

I took a seat on the picnic blanket and watched the scenery. There was a beautiful mix of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens that covered the entire park. Every once in a while, a strong wind blew, creating a small tornado of leaves, and eventually a breeze reached the picnic blanket I was on.

The breeze felt great. I closed my eyes to feel it with all my senses, the smell, the cool chill, it’s a wonderful sensation. It was the kind of breeze that refreshes the soul unique to the beginning of Fall. Mari really had set up her picnic blanket in the perfect spot. Despite Kel’s nagging at how long it took for her to find it, it was completely worth it. Everything was perfect, and I had my bubble of space. No one nor no thing could disturb it.

“Uh, you okay, Sunny?”

I opened my eyes to see Kel leaning into me and disturbing my bubble; he was leaning way too close. There was only an inch before we would’ve butted our foreheads. I backed away gracefully. I did not lose my balance and fall on my back. Indeed, it was completely my own choice to lie on the ground and stare at the clouds.

“Whoops, sorry about that Sunny, heh heh. Does it hurt?”

I had to think about it a little. The pain was a weird pain; it teetered between the line of pain and mild discomfort, like the pain was doing a strange ballet recital between the two lines. It just left me with an awfully uncomfortable sensation.

After I got up, I shook my head. It wasn’t a big deal, and the pain was pretty much gone. Kel made a sound that was probably relief, picked up some leaves, and ran off into the distance. Kel said he was trying to create the largest pile of leaves and create a leaf explosion.

I’m definitely not going to be around when he hops in.

Instead, I wanted to put myself into a prime position for the next breeze, so I looked for the perfect spot. A place with a bit of distance from the others, actually. No one would surprise me like Kel again.

Mari and Hero were sitting next to each other on the opposite side of the picnic blanket. They were both having some more sandwiches Hero cooked up. They were eating them peculiarly as well.

Mari held the sandwich in her hand in front of Hero.

Hero gingerly took a bite out of it. His face was red as he swallowed.

Mari giggled and nudged his arm. She signaled for Hero to feed her this time.

Hero did so, and as she chewed, she whispered something in Hero’s ear.

“You… squirrels… pretty… cool… think… fell… love again.” I couldn’t really make out much of what they were saying, but it was probably something mushy, considering how much Hero was blushing.

They thought they were being so sneaky, feeding each other and whispering like that when no one was looking.

But I saw it all.

Y’know, Mari isn’t as sharp as she usually is when she does when she does this stuff with Hero. I wonder why? She would catch me staring any other time. I would ask her, but she probably wouldn’t give me a straight answer.

Do relationships do that to people? I’m going to have to test this hypothesis, but if it’s true, after so many years, I finally found one of Mari’s weaknesses! Of course, as her good little brother, I wouldn’t do anything with it. I’d only slightly tease her with it!

Kel was off in the distance and his leaf pile was getting pretty big. How was he able to stack up all those leaves? And why isn’t the wind blowing them away? Questions for later.

Basil was off to the side in the shade with his plant. He was reading a book but couldn’t concentrate on the pages. Mainly due to the wind. It kept flipping the pages, making Basil lose his place, no matter what he did he concentrate. Oh, he noticed I was looking his way and waved to me.

I waved back.

I’m pretty sure that he read that book before. I remember it because Basil kept egging me on to read it as well. It was pretty interesting. The details were fuzzy to me, but it was a murder mystery novel where a detective was examining a suicide case. But there was a twist! It was actually a murder! Basil told me a sequel to the book was coming out, so he was building a theory about what’ll happen in the next book. His book was chock-full of colorful post-it notes. Hopefully Basil will lend me the sequel when he’s done with it.

Aubrey was in the field trying to be a Disney princess. Mewo, Hector, and Bun-Bun surrounded her as she twirled and sang a song I’m pretty sure was from one of their movies. It would’ve been better if she wasn’t devastatingly off-key.

Aubrey’s off-key singing did not cause the animals to break out into a chorus, and they instead did what animals do, and wander off. Hector searched for food, Mewo did what cats do, and Bun-Bun, for some reason, approached me.

I readied myself. Why was this _rabbit_ approaching me? To be honest, I didn’t like the fluffy creature.

It’s not like he did anything to me, but I was frankly sick of hearing anything about Bun-Bun during our talks. We’ve been having secret talks in the park for a while now and we both spoke, I mostly listened, about whatever.

It was nice.

I could usually listen to Aubrey talk about almost anything for the whole day.

Except for Bun-Bun.

Something about all the stories that describe how his ears twitched or how he ate something in a cute way really annoyed me. If I had to listen to one more story about the habits of rabbits, I’d knock myself out. Even I had limits to my patience. The stories about Aubrey cuddling Bun-Bun were the worst.

A summer day flashed into my head. The rumbling of a car, the smell of sand, and an instance where I accidently nodded off to Aubrey’s shoulder. Weird, why was I reminiscing about this? It wasn’t even that relevant right now.

Thankfully, before the _rabbit_ got close to me, Aubrey ran up and picked him up. Still rankled me a bit, though.

“Where are you going, Bun-Bun?” Where indeed. I glowered at it to make it turn the other way, but the _rabbit_ was unfazed and tried its best to hop in my direction.

“Oh! You want to go to Sunny?”

Unfortunately, all my efforts were for naught as Aubrey was running towards me with the rabbit in her arms.

“Sunny, look! Bun-Bun wants to play with you! Isn’t she so cute! She’s so soft as well!” She held out her arms to show me. I saw none of the aforementioned qualities. “Try rubbing your face on her stomach!”

I would’ve said no, but Aubrey was looking at me with such excited eyes. I… I didn’t want to disappoint her… But I feel like I’d lose something important if I cuddled the rabbit just because Aubrey wanted to see it…

“Sure.” I picked up the rabbit and gave his stomach a few fluffs. I gave the best smile I could under the circumstances. Aubrey smiled back.

I chose her smile.

I felt a bit warmer afterwards.

  
  


“You two having fun?” Mari asked with Hero as she popped up behind us. I stumbled a bit but immediately caught myself. Is everyone going to sneak up on me today?

“Yeah!” said Aubrey, “Sunny just wanted to play with Bun-Bun a little, he’s said so much about wanting to meet him!” Lies. Those words have never left my lips.

“I can see why. Bun-Bun is quite cute.” Mari tried getting the bunny’s attention, but the bunny instead sniffed Aubrey’s hair.

“Isn’t she?!” Aubrey lit up. “Want to fluff her stomach, Mari?!”

“Oh, I’d love to! Just give me a sec.” Mari walked up to me, “Here Sunny, have another sandwich, you could always eat a bit more.”

I took the sandwich as Mari petted the bunny. It was kind of annoying seeing Mari smother the rabbit, so I focused on my sandwich instead. I wasn’t really hungry, but food is food. I closed my eyes and focused on the sandwich. Oh wow, the sandwich is good even when it’s smushed and cold.

“So Sunny, you like rabbits more than cats? Mewo would be devastated.” That was a weird question. She should know that Mewo is number 1. Obviously.

“No,” I said as I swallowed, “I don’t really…” A took a quick glance at Aubrey. She had the face of a kicked puppy. I had to change my answer, quick! “...like cats that much more than rabbits!”

Hero looked betrayed. Look, I know, I’m sorry Hero, but if you could just learn to disappoint people every once in a while, you wouldn’t be stuck in those situations where you just can’t please everyone. I’ll apologize later.

“I see, I see.” Said Mari. A grin broke out on her face. “So what about Aubrey? Do you like her more than Mewo and Bun-Bun? That reminds me, didn’t the two of you snuggle up the other day?”

Some sandwich got lodged in my throat. I started choking and eventually I got the sandwich out. I could finally breathe again. Why did Mari have to bring that day up? I repressed the aftermath of that day from my memory. Mari gave me an insufferable and wry smile that whole week before she let it go. But what do I say?

The truth?

No way. That’s too embarrassing.

“We didn’t!” It came out with more force than I intended. My face felt hot. “That’s not a fair question!”

“Fine, fine. But I’m curious, how’s the relationship between you two?”

How much does Mari know? My poker face is pretty good, so I don’t _think_ she knows about my crush. Okay… okay… she definitely doesn’t know about when we meet at the park. If I play my cards right, those meetings can hopefully be kept a secret.

“We mainly talk at school about anything with Basil and Kel.” I really hoped Mari wouldn’t see through me.

Aubrey was looking my way, and if she pointed out my lie, I’d explode on the spot. But her correction never came.

Wait, don’t tell me… does she want to keep our meetings a secret? Our eyes met.

She gave me a nod.

We’re on the same page! I don’t know why Aubrey’s helping me, but I can do this!

“Oh, I see them together on the swings at the park a lot. They stay there for hours.” A leaf-covered Kel said as he popped out of nowhere.

I can’t do this.

Dang it Kel, shut up...

“Dang it Kel, it’s not like that!” shouted Aubrey more audibly. She approached Kel as she winded up a headbutt. Hero broke them up before any actual fighting started, but it meant the three of them were preoccupied, and that meant that it left me with Mari.

“Oh, really?” Mari’s face lit up like it was her birthday. “A secret rendezvous, huh?” She poked my cheek, “You go lil’ bro, you’re growing up so fast!”

“It’s not like that!” It may kinda sorta be like that, but I won’t ever admit it to Mari.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Basil appeared to the side of me as he noticed the commotion. He marked a page with a pressed-flower bookmark and finally closed his book.

“It turns out that Sunny and Aubrey have been meeting up in secret!” Mari laughed as she spoke.

Basil took a moment to process the information before turning to me. I nudged his arm, and hopefully he got the message. Save me, Basil!

Come on, Basil! I can count on you! Diffuse the situation, please!

He smirked instead.

“Wow, should I get Sunny some flowers to help him woo Aubrey?”

Basil, no! How could you betray me!

Basil just looked back with a small smile.

The two of them were tag-teaming to tease me. This is horrible. I have to distract myself to weather all the damage they were doing to me. Beyond twiddling my thumbs, I checked with Aubrey to see how she was doing. I think she was doing better than I was; she was explaining to Hero and Kel about us in a flurry and waving her arms frantically.

“So… you meet up with Sunny because the two of you trade stories about what will happen in the next Captain Spaceboy?” Asked Hero.

“No fair! Why didn’t you invite me?! I love Captain Spaceboy as much as both of you two!” Complained Kel.

“Well, um, “ Aubrey took a moment, “Your stories are kinda stupid.”

“No, they’re not! Think about it! The next story of Captain Spaceboy could have him fight giant alien cows as they shoot him with milk guns!” said Kel, his eyes closed and his mind no doubt envisioning a battle between bovine and boy. Yeah, I’m not really sure if that’s a good idea, Kel.

Personally, I had my own ideas about Captain Spaceboy’s next adventure. Captain Spaceboy in love sounded really fun.

“That’s dumb.” Said Aubrey, and that just started another argument.

Well, at least Aubrey somehow distracted the two of them.

“You don’t have to be shy, Aubrey.” Mari finally let up on me and joined in Aubrey’s ‘conversation’.

“S-shy? Shy about what?” Aubrey asked.

“Well…” Mari looked to the rest of us, “maybe this is best reserved for girl talk. Go on everybody else, shoo shoo.” She fanned her arm at us, and that was the sign to leave the two of them for a private conversation. We all took the familiar cue and drifted away like leaves.

Off in the distance, Aubrey whispered something into Mari’s ear. Mari said something back, and Aubrey covered her face. I had no idea what the two of them were saying. Oh shoot, Mari is turning my way. She’d give me the scolding of a lifetime, if she found out I was eavesdropping.

Kel, the nosy tattletale, was talking to Basil about his book. I hope a leaf gets stuck in his underwear. Let’s talk to Hero instead.

“Hey Sunny. It’s a great day today, isn’t it?” I nodded. Small talk with anyone was always weird, but Hero makes it natural somehow. As expected of Hero.

“You’ve been practicing for the recital with Mari, right? The music bleeds out of your house when you two practice. I’ve heard the song you two play so much that it’s stuck in my head, but I’m still looking forward to your performance. You both sound great!”

Only Mari sounded great. It’s been weeks, but I still can’t get the song down. Mari only took like a day or two to perfect the song, and I’m just stuck playing the same song over and over again, and making the same mistakes. She hasn’t even messed up since the moment she learned it.

The recital. It was coming up in just a few weeks, but it just left me with a pit in my stomach. It’s why today was so great. Today would be a break from all the practice, where I could hang out with my friends and have fun.

“Oh, don’t worry Sunny, you’ll do fine. I know how hard you’ve been working, and it’ll pay off.” Hero noticed my face scrunching up and did his best to reassure me.

“I’m fine.” I turned away from Hero, and came to the sight of Mari hugging Aubrey, who was squirming in her arms. Ah yeah, sometimes Mari’s hugs smother you too much and it gets hard to breathe. We should probably help.

“Well, she just said something great and super cute! I just had to hug her!” Mari started.

“Stphh fhat!” Aubrey could barely make a sound. Mari just giggled and ruffled Aubrey’s hair with her chin.

“Let up on her Mari.” Hero went to save Aubrey, and Aubrey could finally breathe once more.

“So what did Aubrey say?” Kel noticed the commotion and jumped in to find out more.

“Well, wouldn’t it be super great if Aubrey was everyone’s sister?” Mari gave the stupidest, largest grin I’ve seen all day.

Aubrey as a sister? That seemed weird. I’d prefer not to happen.

“Bleh, I don’t want Aubrey as a sister, she’ll give me cooties.” Kel stuck his tongue out.

“Um, Aubrey doesn’t have cooties.” Basil corrected Kel.

“Well, she has something girly in her bones, and I don’t want that anywhere near me!” Kel moved behind me and made me a human shield.

I turned around and exposed Kel towards the girly energy. I was very peeved at Mr. Tattletale, so perish and fall under the girly aura!

“Sunny! Nooooooo!” Kel fell to the ground. His unmoving body closed its eyes and stuck its tongue out. The very picture of a corpse.

“Is he okay?” Basil asked.

“It’s Kel. He deserves it.” Aubrey glared at the corpse.

“Don’t say that, Aubrey.” Scolded Hero. “Though the way the two of you fight are already kind of like a sibling relationship.”

“What! There’s no way we’re like that!” Aubrey did her best to look disgusted. I tried my best not to laugh, but I couldn’t stifle the giggles that came out. And unfortunately, Aubrey noticed my laughter. Her face reset, turned red, and she looked away. Sorry Aubrey…

Basil hadn’t spoken up in a while, I should probably check up on him. He was off to the side, his eyes were darting around. I’ve noticed that he always does that when he’s super unsure of himself. What’s bothering him this time?

“Basil.” His eyes snapped to me, and I gave him a nod. He got the message, but he took a second to gather up his courage. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“W-well, all this talk about siblings makes me kind of wish I had a sister or brother…”

“Don’t say that! You’re part of our family too, Basil!” Mari interjected.

I agreed. Basil always had a bad habit of excluding himself. We always had to remind him that there was no way we’re leaving him alone.

“Thanks.” Basil’s face grew red, his mouth moved into a smile, and scratched his cheek.

Though Basil as family… I wouldn’t mind Basil as a brother, though. Even though I’m pretty sure nothing between us would really change.

* * *

The sun began to set, and I could feel the energy in the air peter out. Everyone was sitting on the picnic blanket. Quietly watching the sunset. Well, except for Kel. He was lying on a pile of leaves which he was calling _mi casa_.

“I’m bored. Sunsets are boring.” Kel bluntly stated as he rolled on the blanket of leaves. His mom is going to give him a huge scolding for getting his clothes and entire body all dirty like that. Kel didn’t seem to care, and his dirt-covered fingers went into his mouth and he whistled.

“Hector! Here, boy!” The whistle echoed through the park along with Kel’s voice.

I saw Hector over. In his race to run over to owner, Hector lost all grace and awareness of his surroundings. He became a Kel-seeking missile. Thus, he kicked up dirt; he jumped over the roots of a nearby tree, his leg got caught in a pot, and I winced.

Hector couldn’t exactly run with his leg hindered like that, so he whipped his leg out. Unfortunately, that sent Basil’s flower flying.

The flower flew through the air, and it hit the ground hard.

The pot shattered all over the grass. The flower’s petals contrasted heavily with the leafy ground.

Everyone’s heads turned over to the crashing sound.

“Hector!” Hero shouted. He went up to the plant and picked up the pieces. From what I could see, the flower hurt too bad, but it lost a noticeable amount of its petals.

Basil just stood there silently.

His eyes were getting watery. This is bad.

“I’m sorry, Basil!” Kel immediately apologized, “Don’t cry! Um, I’ll get you a new pot! Promise!”

“I-i-i-t’s f-fine, K-kel…” said Basil, but his sniffling and watery eyes told a different story. His breath was quick, and he was only a push away from completely bawling.

Mari, Hero, and Aubrey went over to do their best to comfort him. Kel stood off awkwardly to the side. His guilt was apparent on his face.

This was strange.

I knew Basil. He had a big heart and would usually forgive anyone of us in almost an instant. He may have loved plants, but not to the extent of crying over them like this, since well… I sound so arrogant when I say this… he loves us more. So his tears were strange. There’s something more going on.

“Basil, is everything okay?” I did my best to put some emotion in my voice. I don’t know what’s troubling him, but it’ll be better if I can get him to talk about it. I looked him dead in the eye.

“Y-ye-“ Basil was about to default to his typical response, but his eyes met mine.

“You should talk, I know it’ll help.” As the certified good listener in our group, my friends really liked using me to vent out their feelings. I’m proud that it always seemed to make them happier afterwards.

“U-um guys, I need you to hear me out.” Basil caught his breath and steadied himself.

“Huh? What is it, Basil?” Hero was always the first to lend an ear to someone. Everyone else gave Basil their full attention.

“Well, it’s… it’s about, um, my grandma.” Oh, Basil’s grandma. I’ve met her a few times when we went to Basil’s house. She reminded me a lot of Mari. She always had some chocolate chip cookies ready in the oven and was super strict about anything relating to her flowers. Kel was scolded many times when he came over. Basil really loved her.

“She recently got really sick, and she had to go to the hospital. The doctors say she’s going to be okay, but… what if she doesn’t? The flower I got was a chrysanthemum, and it’s supposed to be a good luck charm in getting better, and I wanted to give it as a gift while she was in the hospital and… and…”

Aubrey went up and gave him a hug before Basil could say anything more.

“C’mon Basil, let it all out. It’s okay to cry.” She said. And Basil let it all out.

“Group hug!” Hero called out as soon as he saw the two hug. He added his arms to the hug that was already going on between Aubrey and Basil. Mari added herself soon after.

I would’ve gone over to hug Basil immediately, but uh, if I went in for a hug now, I’d be pretty much directly hugging Aubrey. It was like a 50/50 split between the hug coverage ratio between the two of them. Mari would totally tease me about this later, but after not a moment more, I went in for the hug.

Our friend was more important than that.

“Come on, Kel, join in.” I said. Kel was probably feeling unsure if he should join in. Hugs first, guilt later. Great words to live by.

* * *

We kept hugging until the sun had fully set, and for a few more minutes after that. Basil fell asleep between the warmth of six people and the exhaustion from crying out so much. That signaled it was about time for us to all go home. Hero carried Basil back to his house, and thankfully Basil’s home wasn’t empty. His parents had hired a caretaker to make sure Basil was taken care of.

Kel tried to lift everything that Hero brought with him today. He was struggling under the weight, but he said it was his punishment for making Basil cry. But after he dropped the blanket and a few other things a bit too many times, Mari picked up after him and helped him along the rest of the way. Aubrey picked up Basil’s plant and did her best to keep it whole.

Which meant it left me carrying both Mewo and Bun-Bun. The two warm fluff-balls in my arms were serviceable. I think I’d have to revise my opinion on the bunny; the fluff was _okay,_ but I still didn’t see what the big deal was. Even if the way she squirmed felt really soft.

Even Hector seemed to feel sort of guilty as well, and he carried back Mari’s picnic basket back home. It was a really funny sight watching Mari’s face scrunch up as dog slobber got on the handle of the picnic basket.

As we walked away from the park, I couldn’t help but feel some sort of pride in all six of us. We truly were invincible as long as we all stuck together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for waiting and reading.


	3. Chapter 3

“Okay, once more from the top. 3… 2… 1…” And the piano began to play. Slow, gentle notes echoed throughout the room. A break came, and the piano began anew, with a renewed pace playing a jaunty tune. It was perfect.

I listened for the notes that came right before my entrance. There was one measure left.

I readied the bow of my violin, took a breath, and played. It was okay, I could do this.

Notes hummed out into the air, as I followed along the sheet music I had read oh so many times today.

I always start out fine. Every note was hit, each movement of my arm was deliberate, and I was able to play out each sound in proper time. I practiced this part so many times, for so many nights, My ears were perked as I focused on the piano. If I didn’t, it would leave me behind.

Eventually, I slip up. Maybe I played the note half a measure too high, maybe I was late by a quarter of a second, maybe I held down the string just a centimeter too low. It’s a small mistake, nothing I should worry about. I’ve made these kinds of small mistakes all day and I just needed to play through them.

But… I could hear laughter somewhere. A small snort that should’ve been impossible to hear with all the music that filled the room.

Can’t you see that I’m trying my best!

But that small mistake slowly snowballs into something more and more. I’m late on the next note. I play the note incorrectly. The rest of my music just spirals into further disarray. I try to focus again, but I already lost where I was supposed to be. The next C note sounds too sharp, and I winced. My arms started to ache and my fingers hurt.

But the music reminded me that there was something more urgent. Even after practicing for so long, I couldn’t remember the next part.

Desperately, I tried to find where I am on the sheet music, but I was so lost. I listened to the piano and noticed that I had to turn the page four seconds ago.

My hand snapped forward, and I tried moving to the next sheet. However, my hand hit the rest of the other music sheets, and they fluttered all over the floor. I heard another impossible-to-hear snort. There was a pit in my stomach.

The music didn’t stop. I kept playing by memory. I sounded awful. I made mistake after mistake after mistake.

The piano was still absolutely perfect.

It made no mistakes. It was like nothing could ever mess it up. Between me and the beautiful tones, I heard a horrible dissonance. That made it so much worse.

I pressed the bow deep into my violin as I continued to play. My mind screamed at me as I worked through the pain in my fingertips and worked to keep myself from crying. It sounds awful, and it’s all because of me.

Why wasn’t I good enough, why doesn’t she stop for me, I hate this, I should’ve never taken lessons, why doesn’t she notice, I’m miserable, I just want to hangout, this isn’t fun, I want to cry, it’s hard to breathe, my fingers will fall off if I keep playing, why do I have to play…

I desperately tried to keep it all down, to just keep playing, but then…

Something snapped.

The piano stopped.

Mari was saying something, but I didn’t want to hear what she had to say. Her words entered my ears nonetheless.

“Sunny, are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” she said.

Now? You’re worried now?! I was about to say something, but I had to open my eyes to face Mari, and I saw what she was actually worried about.

The strings on my violin had split. My violin looked like a broken spider web.

“Do we have any spare strings around the house?”

“No.” I lied. I had a set at the bottom of my toy box. “I’ll buy some tomorrow at Hobbeez.” The hobby store carried music items as well.

“Tomorrow?” Mari’s head shot towards the window. “Oh shoot, it’s this late already?”

The stars were high in the sky, and the moon towered above them all.

“Yeah, we’ll have to stop for today.” Mari pushed down the piano key coverings. “School ends early tomorrow, so let’s practice when we both get back. Don’t worry, we’ll get it down before the recital.”

I doubt it. I’m just going to keep messing up and keep failing. I don’t even want to look at my violin.

And you want to practice as soon as we get home? Well, looks like I won’t be running back home tomorrow. It’ll probably be a slow crawl, as if I forgot how to walk.

“Oh, you don’t have to buy the violin strings, Sunny. I’ll go buy them for you.” How much does she want to practice?!

“It’s fine.” No. Mari would head straight home if she bought them, and then there would be nothing to delay her.

I needed an excuse. Something to just delay the practice for ANY reason whatsoever.

“I don’t remember the name of the strings I use. I know how they look like though.”

“Shoot. I guess you’ll have to buy them then.” Mari sighed. She picked up my music sheets that had fallen on the ground. She straightened them against a warrant chair and handed them back to me.

I restrained myself as I gently took the pages back. I wanted to tear up the pages in my hands. But all I could do was aggressively fold the corners back and forth.

“Well, I’ll leave some money on the kitchen table tomorrow morning, so don’t forget it, lil’ bro.” said Mari as she shook her hands. She told me they were wrist stretches. She was always super punctual about stretching. “I’m going to get something to eat, you want some Sunny?”

I shook my head. The queasy feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away, and I didn’t think I could eat anything at all.

“Oh right, good practice Sunny.” she said as she walked out the door.

What. What? How was that in any way… WHAT?! That has to be sarcasm, right?! But before I could manage to say anything, Mari walked into the kitchen.

I needed to say something, anything, but I could barely manage a coherent thought anymore. The rest of the night was a blur. I couldn’t think. My head was on fire.

I didn’t know whether to cry or scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but next chapter coming very soon. 1-2 days tops.


	4. Chapter 4

A cold wind blew through the town and made me eat my hair. Bleh!

My teeth were chattering and I couldn’t even feel my cheeks. They felt like metal sheets and I could barely move my lips.

I didn’t think it would be this cold outside! Why is fall so cold! Wasn’t that reserved for winter! Why didn’t I bring a hat! I should’ve worn a hat instead of my bow. A part of me wanted to put my arms through the sleeves of the other arm to at least warm my hands a little. But that would make me look like someone from an insane asylum to everyone on the street…

I let out a sigh.

There was nothing to do. It wouldn’t be for another couple of hours before dad came home. I walked down the street, just to look at the lawn decorations everyone had put up. It only took five pink flamingos and stupid-looking lawn gnomes before I got bored of it. Isn’t there anything to do?

I looked around and saw the park about a block away.

Eh, might as well waste time at the park.

I waved to the apple juice guy right outside the park, though I ignored him when he tried to get me to buy some juice.

I went through the park gates and looked around to see if anyone was around. The only person I saw was a kid that ran past me. He was in a dead sprint towards the sandbox, and when he reached it, he took a deep crouch. Then, he jumped and dove headfirst into the sandbox.

But why though?

Eventually, he pulled out his head, sand flew everywhere. If that wasn’t enough, he began to hack up sand in a coughing fit that seemed to go on for too long.

Is he choking? Can people choke on sand?

I picked up my pace to go help him, but before I could help him, the boy jumped back up. And then he began to skip away.

I guess he’s fine?

But just as I was about to let him be, he suddenly turned around and sprinted headfirst into the sand once more. This is the kind of thing Kel would enjoy.

I mentally named the kid, ostrich kid, and walked past him to the swings. Swings were fun. But the swing was cold today. It was really uncomfortable to sit there, but it eventually warmed up a bit. My legs dangled, and I kicked every once in a while just to move a little.

The park was barren, so I guess I could enjoy the quiet?

Nothing was happening though. Quiet is boring.

I gripped the chains, flung myself back and faced the sky. A cloud covered sun, so I could stare at the sky without being blinded. I wonder, could I spot any birds? Have they all migrated for the winter already? Maybe I can find a few if I just check the trees…

I could’ve sworn I saw a bird near the entrance of the park. As I focused on the trees, I noticed some movement. My eyes checked for a bird, but instead slowly focused on a boy walk down the sidewalk.

He was walking with a violin case around his back, and a small plastic bag in his right hand. He staggered left and right in a super exaggerated manner while stomping on the ground.

Is that kid drunk?

My eyes slowly focused in on the boy’s face.

Woah, that’s Sunny! What happened?

Oh god, Sunny didn’t somehow get his hands on alcohol, did he? Is that what’s in the bag?! I need to check! Alcohol is bad, Sunny! You’ll become an unresponsive husk that just lays there on the couch!

With a quick tug, I picked myself up and jumped from the swing. I landed with a deep thud as sand splashed around me. Ack! Sand got in my shoes. Gotta remember to empty them later.

I could be wrong, but to be sure, I needed to look in the bag.

I ran closer and closer towards Sunny but he didn’t even take note of the sounds my footsteps made. Anyone who didn’t notice me by now had to be drunk. I can’t believe it, he really does have alcohol!

This calls for something drastic! My running pace made my hands super numb and frosty, but they gave me an idea. They were about to get warmer.

Sunny passed the park gates. I slowed down so I could move quietly. With my stealthy tip-toe, Sunny was still completely oblivious. I was ready to pounce.

“Sunny!” and my hands latched onto his neck. Sunny responded by jumping in shock like a startled cat.

“Bwaaah!” he cried.

Sunny turned around and I looked him dead in the eyes.

“Aubrey!” He didn’t look back at me, he looked at the ground instead. He avoided direct eye contact! That must be a sign of his guilt! “Get off! Your hands are cold.” 

My cold hands will help me shock Sunny! I had to scold him until he swore off alcohol!

“I can’t believe you could do this!” I wriggled my fingers. That made Sunny squirm.

“Do what?” He was trying to play dumb!

“You’re drinking! What would Mari think! You’re only 13!” I was going to have to stage an intervention for Sunny. The TV show proved that they always work.

“No I’m not!” Sunny’s face puckered up. It wasn’t like Sunny to lie like this. The boy I used to know was changing.

“Then what’s in that bag!” I kept one of my hands on Sunny’s neck as I used the other to swipe the plastic bag in Sunny’s hand. It was surprisingly light. I opened it to show the evidence. “Look!”

Inside the bag was a colorful square with some writing on it. Err, where was the bottle?

An awkward silence began to pass. There was a niggling thought at the back of my head, as I broke the silence.

“Um, what’s that?”

“They’re violin strings.” Sunny said in a flat voice.

“So… you’re not drunk?” 

“No! Can you let go of me now?”

And it was like a cold bucket of water dropped on me. Then, I finally noticed the position I was in.

The thing I didn’t realize about wrapping your hands around the neck of a boy you know is that… you need to be surprisingly close to him. I was able to look into Sunny’s (not drunk) eyes, in much more detail than usual, they were a really nice shade of brown. The other thing is that our faces were only a small distance apart and I could feel his breath. 

I let go. My hands were finally warm and I could feel my fingers. My face was on fire. It was probably the cold. The cold made my face red. I screamed internally.

I messed so bad! I want to run away! But, it’d be awful of me to do all that without apologizing.

“I’m so sorry about that Sunny!” Please forgive me! I didn’t mean to do all that!

“It’s fine.” Oh thank goodness, Sunny didn’t seem to mind too much. I think he’s embarrassed for me, his face was red as well... “Though, what are you doing here Aubrey?”

Right. I was at the park alone.

I didn’t know how to answer. I can’t say I had nothing to do. That’s a boring answer, and it would also sound like I was at the park, just waiting for Sunny to come.

“I was, uh,” My eyes darted around, looking for something to use for a believable excuse. I remembered ostrich kid. “training my headbutt. So if Kel ever takes Mr. Plantegg again, he won’t survive what comes next.”

His silence was telling. I could feel my cheeks reddening again. Okay, time to force the conversation along!

“So, what about you!” I begged Sunny with my eyes. Please just brush over what I just said!

“I was at Hobbeez buying stuff. It’s where I got the violin strings.” He complied, thank goodness.

“They have violin strings?” Wasn’t Hobbeez like, for comics and toys only?

“The shopkeeper has a really weird collection.”

I didn’t even know violins could break. Wait does that mean other parts of the violin could break?

“The violin is okay right?” It’d make me sad if the violin that everyone worked their butts off all summer got damaged. Everyone worked really hard to buy the violin.

“Yeah. It’s fine.” Sunny murmured. His tone was awfully negative. He must’ve felt bad that the violin broke. He really shouldn’t worry, it was just some strings snapping. I should help.

“Hey Sunny, can I help you fix your violin, to apologize for earlier?” It would beat just sitting around, looking for birds.

“I don’t need help to fix it.” Dang, there goes that plan.

“Right, you need to go home to practice…” I sighed. Mari could probably do a better job than I ever could to repair it.

“Actually, you can help!” Sunny changed his mind? “Follow me.”

He walked over to the swings, and put his violin case over his lap. I took the swing next to him as he opened the case and pulled out the violin. I leaned in to get a better look. The violin looked like it was trying to get a tv signal. The strings were all attached to the violin as well. How were you supposed to get them out then?

Turns out there really wasn’t much to repairing a violin. Sunny twisted the knubs on the violin to remove the strings. Then he got the new strings from the rainbow square in the bag, and threaded the strings onto the violin.

I held the violin up the entire time. Yay teamwork!

When we were finished, Sunny picked up the bow and began to play a few notes.

“Play a song!” I didn’t get to hear Sunny play all that much outside of the few times I watched him practice with Mari. I really want to hear what it sounds like.

Sunny looked like he swallowed a bug.

“Pleeeeeeease!” I know I’m being a bother, but I really want to hear what everything will sound like for when the recital comes.

The recital was in just a few days, and I’ve been super excited about it. Hero was really annoying with how much he talked about how he gets to listen to the two of them play all day! At least Kel doesn’t make a fuss about it! Think about how Basil and I feel!

Sunny relented and stood up. He readied his bow, and placed his violin onto his chin. He began to play.

It was beautiful.

A song echoed throughout the park. An madder red sky lit up behind Sunny as music poured from his violin. I didn’t recognize the song, but it was wonderous. It was hypnotizing. He was graceful as he made his music. 

The song wasn’t very fast, but it wasn’t slow either. It made me kind of sad. The melody and the fact the only instrument playing was the violin. I wanted to fill the silence a little, so I hummed along. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but it felt right.

Sunny turned to me immediately. Am I messing up the song? It was kind of embarrassing how he stared at me. I almost wanted to shut up, but I was enjoying myself too much to stop.

I closed my eyes so I could concentrate on the violin. I swayed with the beat and I felt myself smiling all the while. The air smelled like leaves and autumn. The only thing I heard was the lone violin and my own voice. I felt my tongue tingle as I kept humming all sorts of random notes.

I followed the violin as best I could, but I messed up a lot. I think I made up with it for enthusiasm though.

Every once in a while, the violin and my voice would manage to sync up, and those moments were magical. It didn’t happen at all at first, but as I got used to Sunny’s violin, I harmonized with it more and more.

The violin was like Sunny’s voice, and it was singing with me. The sad song from the violin was somehow more cheerful and lively when it mixed with my voice. It was really fun.

A not very good, clashing, completely random duet from the two of us played in the park.

Eventually, Sunny finished his song, and I stopped with him. I gave him a big round of applause.

“You were amazing!”

Sunny hid his face. I think I saw a blush there.

“Sorry if the humming was distracting.” Hopefully Sunny didn’t find me a bother.

“No, it was… pretty.” Oh. Um. Right. He’s talking about my voice, yeah. “I should’ve tried to match you more…”

“No way! It’s more fun if you do your own thing as well! You’re a lot better than me anyways, so you should sound good at the very least.” It’d be awful if Sunny played badly on purpose for me. It wasn’t supposed to be serious, so a lack of consideration would be a good thing.

Sunny didn’t give me a response, he just put away his violin back into it’s case and he sat back down on the swings. A silence awkwardly formed between us.

Sunny’s was moping. He was obviously upset, I could figure out that much. But why? Was it something I said? Will he talk about it? Would he even open up?

I knew what I had to do. We were on the swings. Sunny usually heard out my problems, now it’s time I hear out his!

“Sunny, earlier, you were really upset. What was that about?”

“I wasn’t.” He tried to close himself off immediately.

“Stop lying.” Even after all those times we talked… “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“I… just don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s not fair. I tell you what I’m worried about, all the time. You can tell me, we’re friends right?”

That was the clincher. Sunny began to twiddle his thumbs and eventually let out a aggravated sigh.

“I’m not good enough to play with Mari.” His head was turned to the ground. “I practice and practice, but I’m not getting any better. It’s so frustrating. All I get is to spend less time with everyone on Saturdays, and a bunch of callouses on my hands.”

Sunny kicked, and swung back and forth. He was barely holding back tears.

“It’s miserable to play the violin.” He said.

“What? That’s… but…”

I wanted to bring up how everyone had pitched in to get that violin, how everyone did all that for Sunny. But, I held back. Sunny wanted someone to understand him, not to force him to do stuff.

“Sorry for making you play earlier then.” He must’ve felt awful being forced to play.

“Don’t. I had fun that time.” That’s a relief, at the very least.

“If it makes you feel any better, I would love any way you play. Everyone knows how hard you’ve worked.”

I know just how much you wanted to play the violin Sunny. On that Christmas day, when we gave you the violin, we lied a little. We said it was Basil’s idea, but really, it was mine. I just had Basil propose the idea to everyone else about it, because, well, it was embarrassing to reveal that I was watching you.

But, I saw how you played with your toy violin. I watched you get all sad when you talked about how Mari was busy doing other things, instead of spending time with you. I noticed how you sometimes look at the piano room, wishing you were playing music.

Saying that you hate the violin, that just can’t be true.

“Does it even matter if I still sound awful?” He still doesn’t get it!

“It does matter! I know it sounds stupid from me, the girl who doesn’t even play an instrument, but it should mean something if you’ve worked for so long! You’ve poured your heart into playing the violin! Mari knows that too! That’s why I love hearing you play it! Don’t lose heart! I’ll be your fan forever!”

Sunny didn’t speak. He stared out into the distance while I recoiled from what I just said. After what seemed like forever, he spoke up again. 

“Thanks Aubrey.” And then Sunny smiled. Wow. Um. That’s really really really cute. I’ve seen him smile before, but this one felt different.

“You’re welcome Sunny.” Glad I could help you for once. “So, what should we do now?”

“If I go home, I’m going to have to practice with Mari.” Sunny looked away, “Can I stay here a little longer.”

“Sure, why not?” And Sunny gave me another smile! That’s unfair! That’s a weapon! It’s a weapon of mass destruction! You shouldn’t bring weapons into the park, Sunny!

Did this count as a romantic moment? The teasing from Mari was still fresh in my mind, and I’d be damned if anyone caught us here again.

I checked for Kel, or if anyone else we knew was being a nosy busybody. I checked all around the park and when I turned back to Sunny, he was doing the same thing.

Our eyes met. I looked at Sunny and he looked back at me. He was scared of the same thing, huh? Sunny began to chuckle, and I laughed with him.

* * *

Eventually, we both fell into the same-old routine. With a bunch of silly conversations about what happened throughout the week.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to hum that well. I kinda thought you were tone deaf.” Said Sunny.

“What! What would make you think that?”

“I saw you sing at the park with our pets.” Ohhhh right. I did butcher that, didn’t I.

“Disney songs are impossible.” My voice was already kind of husky for a girl’s, and their songs want you to go as high as possible. It was a foregone conclusion, no matter how much I tried.

“I want to see everyone sing a song together.”

“That sounds great!” Though I’m pretty sure Kel would ruin it.

“We’ll be like those caroling families during Christmas.” Sunny tilted his head. “Though, we’re kinda already like one.” 

“I know what you mean. Sometimes Hero feels more like a dad than my own dad.” I couldn’t help but laugh when I pictured Hero with my dad’s mustache.

“Kel would be the younger brother.”

“Blegh, Kel would the most annoying brother. I don’t know how Hero deals with him.”

“Kel is fun. And he’s great at making friends.“ That was probably true. If Kel were here, he’d be sticking his head in the sand like an ostrich with ostrich kid.

“Mari is the most adult though. Though, sometimes she gets too touchy.” I knew she had to stop exercising after her knee injury. I just didn’t expect Mari to still have that much arm strength. Her full-power hug was devastating.

“And Basil would be another younger brother.” Sunny said as he nodded.

“Isn’t he older than you?” Basil’s birthday was before Sunny’s by a good three or four months.

“Yeah, but he’d like being a younger sibling more.”

“And…” we’d be siblings too. I couldn’t bring myself to finish that sentence. It… just felt wrong to say. “Never mind.”

But, why did it feel wrong to say?

My words hung in the air, and Sunny looked like he wanted to finish my sentence. I hoped he didn’t. Instead, he reached into his pockets and handed something to me.

It was a bright red orb wrapped in plastic. Oh, it’s candy.

I unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth, and Sunny picked out a different one and popped it into his. It was watermelon flavored.

The air grew quiet and we began to watch the sunset in silence while eating our sweets. I should really fill the silence, but I was lost in thought. I was in a trance, eating candy, and thinking about the two of us again.

Why couldn’t I say we were family?

Well, I already kind of knew why. I’ve went over it so many times in my head, but maybe I’ll get a different answer this time…

I didn’t.

I like Sunny.

I’ve liked him for a while now. I feel fuzzy and happy when I’m around him…

But what exactly was our relationship?

We’re definitely closer than normal friends, I know that much. So, would that mean we were family?

What even is family?

Families stick together. Everyone’s together, supporting one another, and always being there for the other. But I didn’t want to consider Sunny as a brother or something like that.

It _sounded_ great! It should’ve been everything I wanted since I was little. I finally had close friends that would always stick together!

So why did I want more?! Why can’t I just accept what I had!

Deep down, I’m just scared.

What if he didn’t like me back? What if he just thought of me as another sister and just couldn’t think of me that way? If he rejected me, it would be impossible for things to go back to the way they were before.

And even if he accepted me, and we became a couple…

I would lose the relationship I had now. Closer than friends, further than lovers. It was comfortable, yet cloying at times. It still makes me happy.

If I didn’t keep this distance, would it just all fall apart, would everything fall apart?

When they were younger, Mom and Dad used to look so happy in their photos. They told me stories about how they met, and how they were so in love. Now, they both argue so much. Now, all they do is fight and ignore each other. Would that be us someday?

I really hoped Mari and Hero would stay together. I hoped they’d never fight in the future. I hoped their relationship would last forever. The both of them were perfect, the both of them had to be able to make a relationship work.

If I got any closer to Sunny, would I lose everything that I loved about our relationship? The long talks at the park, the ways we greeted each other, all the memories we shared.

Everything I had now and all the things that came with it were just too precious. Spending time with everyone was almost like a dream compared to the days where no one would play with me.

That should be enough, right?

I… didn’t want to risk this. I couldn’t risk this! I can’t change a thing or I might lose it all!

I’ll swallow what I felt. And lock it deep inside me.

I was about to swallow the candy, but suddenly, something shook me.

“Aubrey.” said Sunny.

He was grabbing my shoulder! He’s looking directly at me! My heart isn’t ready! What do I do?!?

“W-what?” My voice hitched, but at least I replied. Why was he so close?! Augh! My brain was mush! Why did I have to think embarrassing thoughts?!

“It’s getting dark. You okay? You were kind of out of it.” It’s nothing special! It’s just a normal thing to care about a friend like that! Stop reading into it!

“I’m f-fine! Let’s go back home.”

The moon was beginning to rise. Everything was wrapped in a deep shade of blue. Thank goodness. The blue helped hide my red face.

I couldn’t look at him anymore. My heart was beating out my chest. I needed to go away and get some space. Why did I have to think about our relationship here and now?! I’m making things so awkward!

There was only one solution to mushy brain: peace and quiet. I’ll get that at home.

We walked together until we reached the corner of Sunny’s street. I took the time to calm down a bit, so I could finally look at him again. Sunny looked a lot better to how he looked when I first saw him today, but his hands were locked in a vice-grip around the handle of the violin case.

He must be nervous about going back home. I know that feeling all too well.

“Hey Sunny,” I knew just the words to say.

“Yeah?”

“You’ll do great.” And with the best smile I could muster, I gave Sunny a push, and waved him goodbye.

Oh. The candy finally dissolved into nothing. Only the aftertaste was left in my mouth.

It was sweet.

* * *

I opened the door and turned on the lights. Dad wasn’t home yet. I passed by the couch and blaring television. I almost tripped on a random bottle. That could’ve been dangerous…

…

I turned back and put it in the recycling bin.

Finally, I climbed the ladder to my room and I took a breath of fresh air. I could finally relax myself.

My mind was reset! Time to reflect on what I did today!

Aaaaaand everything hit me like a truck. I plopped myself onto my bed, and smothered myself with my pillow.

Okay, if I just take my mind off things, I can rid of this nervous feeling in my stomach!

Sunny spoke a lot today.

He thought of us as a second family and I winced. He didn’t explicitly say he thought of me as another sister, but I think he does. How can I even compete with Mari…

I’m thinking about him again. I plopped into my bed and smothered my face with my pillow. I screamed into the pillow to let out some of the feelings with me. My voice sounded weird.

He thought was voice was pretty ehehehe…

I need to stop thinking about him! How am I going to make our relationship not change, if I can’t even look him in the eyes!

He had really cute eyes that made his face generally cute…

Stop it brain! But my brain didn’t comply. I redoubled my efforts to suffocate myself with my pillow. It would be a mercy if it actually worked.

It sort of did.

I started feeling woozy, and my mind began to wander off. It was good that my bed was nice and soft.

There was a white two-story house on a beautiful hill. A pink-picket fence stood out in front, and it was covered by a wonderful assortment of flowers and plants.

Inside that home was a fully furnished living room and kitchen. There was a lit fireplace that was the perfect temperature, and the kitchen was full of warm chocolate chip cookies. There was even a giant fridge stocked with watermelon and all sorts of food.

Upstairs housed a massive bedroom with an adorable mountain of plushies and soft things. The bed was specially made to be jumped on, and when you lay on it, it was like floating in a cloud. 

To the side, there was a music room filled with all sorts of instruments. Across from it was a pet room dedicated to Bun-Bun and all sorts of other animals..

The backyard had a massive treehouse and a shiny blue pool. There was also a much larger garden in the back, filled with all sorts of unknown but charming flowers.

I was there in the living room, sitting on a giant beanbag.

My hair was pink, my eyes were blue, and… I was wearing a ring.

The ring was beautiful. Holding it up to the light just made it glitter all the more.

And then Sunny walked in. He was in a full tuxedo with a rose in his chest pocket and… wore a matching ring on his hand.

Sunny offered me his hand, and I took it.

We stepped outside into the garden. Our faces were lit under a blanket of stars and moonlight, and with both hands interlinked, we began to dance.

It was graceful, with music playing a slow and lovely tune, but both of us were solely concentrated on the each other.

As we spun and stomped, our faces began to move closer and closer. Just as our lips were about to touch…

“Aubrey! Dinner!” Dad called out from downstairs. That snapped me out of it.

… Dang it.

* * *

The bow dragged the final violin note to completion.

I took a deep breath and took my violin off my chin.

“Woah! You improved so much Sunny!” Mari used hers to lavish me with praise.

“Mmm.” My feelings were mixed, Mari had never ever praised me to this extent, but… it was also the best I’ve ever played, even I knew that. We played through all the songs in the setlist continuously and almost nothing went wrong. There were still a few small mistakes, but I felt ready to iron them out

“It was probably from replacing the strings.”

“No way! I could hear so much emotion in your violin! That’s all you lil’ bro.”

Was it? I really couldn’t tell if I sounded differently.

What changed?

Well, I finally had the peace of mind to think while playing. For the last song, I reflected on my relationship with Mari while playing, and that helped me make my notes all the more full.

All in all, Mari truly cared for me.

But she still tries too hard to be perfect…

“What did you use to bring out the emotions in the song?”

“I thought of us.”

“Heh, me too, Sunny.” A smug smile plastered itself directly onto Mari’s face. “Oh, but the song before that was absolutely _perfect._ What were you thinking then?”

That song was what Mari called, ‘a sap song’. It was filled with slow notes and

“Nothing much, I was just in the zone.” I lied.

I must never let her know, I was thinking of my biggest fan.

“Hm, it’s getting late. You want to stop now Sunny?”

“Can we practice a little more?”

It was kind of funny, last night I wanted practice to end as soon as possible.

But now, I want to give her the most wonderful show she’s ever seen.

“Sure. Let’s go lil’ bro.”

The duet filled the neighborhood with song that entire night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna edit this chapter later.
> 
> Also, GJ to snickerbicker for calling out on my angst bluff last chapter. I regret tagging AU before I had this chapter up. Maybe it was for the best.
> 
> I should probably tag more, but I;m super unfamiliar with Ao3 tagging. And I don't wanna use pointless tags since that clogs up everything. Thus, I'll ask for help. If you have a popular tag that applies to my work, can you comment it?
> 
> Thank you for reading! Next chap, I dunno! Shorter one though.


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